Basic Massoni Pizza Base Recipes

SIMPLE PIZZA BASE

Steps:

• Put the flour, yeast and 1 tsp salt into a large bowl. Stir in 500ml of slightly warm water and the oil. You should end up with a wettish dough that is rough and lumpy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover with a tea towel and if your kitchen is cool keep it out, but if it's warm put it in the bottom of the fridge. Leave dough to rise for at least 6 hrs or until doubled in size.
• When ready to cook, bring the dough to room temperature. Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Dust 2-4 baking sheets with semolina. Dust the work surface with flour, then divide the dough into 2 or 4 pieces. Knead each piece on the floured surface, incorporating enough flour to stop the dough being sticky.
• Roll each piece into a pizza shape and lift onto baking sheets. Leave to rise for 10 mins while you sort toppings (see ideas, below). Top the bases with your chosen ingredients, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and bake following the timings for each topping (18 mins for a large pizza or 12 mins for an individual) or until the crust is crisp and the topping is bubbling.

BASIC PIZZA

Steps:

• For the dough, pile the flours and 1 level teaspoon of sea salt onto a clean surface and make a well in the centre.
• Add the yeast and sugar to 650ml lukewarm water, mix together and leave for a few minutes, then pour into the well.
• Using a fork and a circular movement, slowly bring in the flour from the inner edge of the well and mix into the water. Continue to mix, bringing in all the flour - when the dough comes together and becomes too hard to mix with your fork, flour your hands and begin to pat it into a ball.
• Knead the dough by rolling it backwards and forwards, using your hands to stretch, pull and push the dough. Keep kneading for 10 minutes, or until you have a smooth, springy, soft dough.
• Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place to to prove for 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
• For the sauce, peel and finely slice the garlic, then pick the basil leaves and finely chop the stalks.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan on a medium-low heat, add the garlic and basil stalks, then cook gently for a couple of minutes, or until the garlic is lightly golden, then add most of the basil leaves, the tomatoes, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
• Leave the sauce to tick away for around 20 minutes, or until smooth, breaking up the tomatoes up with a wooden spoon. When the time's up, taste, and season to perfection.
• To assemble the pizzas, divide the dough in half. Wrap one half in clingfilm and freeze for another day. With the remaining half, divide the dough into 4 equal balls.
• Flour each dough ball, then cover with clingfilm, and leave to rest for about 15 minutes - this will make them easier to roll it thinly.
• Dust a clean surface and the dough with a little flour or semolina, and roll it out into a rough circle, about ½cm thick.
• Tear off an appropriately sized piece of tin foil, rub it with olive oil, dust well with flour or semolina and place the pizza base on top. Continue doing the same with the remaining dough, dust with a little flour so you can pile them up. Cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge.
• When you're ready to cook them, preheat the oven to 250°C/500°F/gas 9.
• At this stage you can apply your topping: spread the tomato sauce over the base, spreading it out to the edges. Tear over the mozzarella and scatter with the remaining basil leaves. Drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil and add a pinch of salt and pepper.
• If you can, cook the pizzas on a piece of granite in your conventional oven - if not, cook them one by one on pieces of tin foil directly on the bars of the oven shelf, towards the bottom of the oven (If you're going to cook your pizzas on the bars of the oven, make sure they're not too big - otherwise they'll be difficult to manoeuvre). Cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the pizzas are golden and crispy.
• Here are some of my favourite topping ideas: Mozzarella, anchovies, chilli, capers and parsley Smoked pancetta, mozzarella, fresh chilli and tomatoes Egg, prosciutto, artichokes, olives, mozzarella, tomato sauce and basil Green and red grapes, rosemary, pine nuts and ricotta Potatoes, mozzarella, rosemary, thyme and tomatoes Slow-roasted shredded pork with thyme, Taleggio and lemon-dressed rocket

BASIC PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in warm water about 110 degrees F (43 degrees C) in a bowl. Let stand until yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam, about 5 minutes.
• Whisk together all-purpose flour, bread flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Pour in canola oil, olive oil, and warm yeast mixture. Mix on low speed using the dough hook until dough comes together and pulls away from the bowl. Increase mixing speed to medium-high; let knead for 10 minutes.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and form into a ball. Place dough ball into a bowl that's been brushed or sprayed with oil; cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rise for 1 hour.
• Place dough onto a lightly floured work surface and punch down. Divide dough in 1/2 and form into 2 balls. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for an additional 45 minutes.
• Place each dough ball on a lightly floured work surface and form into a 12-inch round pizza crust.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Top pizzas as desired.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden, 18 to 24 minutes.

QUICK AND EASY PIZZA CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan or baker's peel dusted with cornmeal. Spread with desired toppings and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving.

EASY AND AWESOME PIZZA BASE RECIPE

Steps:

• Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water and leave for 5 minutes.
• While waiting, sift the flour into your mixing bowl. Add the salt & oil.
• Once a foam has formed on the yeasty water pour it in and start mixing. Add more water as required (varies depending on climate, humidity etc.) until the dough feels like a young woman's breast. I was taught this by a baker many years ago and while it sounds rude, it really is the easiest way to describe how a good dough should feel. Now clean your mixing bowl.
• This next part, while not vital, does make a noticeable difference. Rub oil around the surface of the dough, put it in your clean mixing bowl and stick it in the fridge. Leave it there for as long as possible (24 hours is best but 6 hours is ok). If you don't have time for the fridge don't stress - just skip it and move on.
• If you used the fridge you will have noticed your dough rose, albeit slowly. Take your dough out of the fridge and let it rise some more.
• Once risen pound the crap out of it to flatten it again but don't knead it too much. Cut your dough into 3 or 4 balls, roll them flat, fold them up and roll them again. This creates air pockets which expand giving your base the authentic 5 star Italian wood-fired look and feel in the comfort of your own home. If the dough begins to feel tough while you're working it, let it rest for 5 minutes. It's just the gluten tightening up and resting it relaxes it.
• Top your bases and cook for 10 minutes or so. If you make thicker bases it often pays to partly cook the base for 5 min then top and bake again.
• Enjoy!

CHOCO-NUTTY BANANA PIZZELLES

Steps:

• Beat egg with sugar until thick. Stir in melted butter and banana extract. Sift flour and baking powder. Mix into batter. Batter will be thick.
• Preheat pizzelle griddle. Lightly grease griddle as needed. Drop 1 tablespoon batter onto each circle. Cook for approximately 25 seconds.
• Once the pizzelles are done, set aside. Melt milk chocolate chips in microwave on medium setting for approximately 1 1/2 minutes. Stir chocolate until it is smooth. Spread melted chocolate about 1/2" strip around the edge of a pizzelle. Sprinkle chopped pecans over chocolate before it hardens. Set aside to cool and harden. Repeat with the remaining pizzelles.
• Optional: If you would like your pizzelles to look more "dressy," drizzle the tops of the pizzelles with melted white chocolate.

BASIC PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Make the dough: Add 1/2 cup of the water to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the hook attachment. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit until bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes. Turn the mixer on low speed and add the oil. Slowly add the flour and mix until the dough is elastic, about 6 minutes. Add the salt and mix until the dough forms a loose ball and completely separates from the sides of the bowl, 4 to 5 minutes more. If the dough feels too dry, add up to 1/4 cup more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough is moist and springy.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, folding the dough over itself. Place the dough in a large bowl, cover it with plastic and let sit at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
• Once proofed, punch down the dough on a floured surface so it releases air before kneading it and forming it into three 6-ounce portions. You want to roll the dough and shape it into smooth balls.
• Place each of the 3 dough balls on a plate or baking sheet. Cover with plastic and let sit at room temperature until soft, about 2 hours. The dough will naturally start to puff up and proof again for the last time. (At this point, you can also wrap the dough balls in plastic and freeze them for a future use.)
• (Alternatively, you can put the plates in the refrigerator for 36 hours and up to 2 days. This is called a "cold ferment" and will add great depth of flavor in your dough, as that yeast has plenty of time to do its "gassy" thing! Remove the dough from fridge and let it sit out at least 2 hours to bring back to room temperature before using.)
• Shape, top and enjoy!

ZUCCHINI CRUSTED PIZZA BASE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Generously oil a 10 inch pie pan and coat lightly with flour.
• Combine zucchini, eggs, flour, mozzarella, parmesan, herbs and 1 T olive oil in a bowl and mix well.
• Spread into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minues or until golden brown.
• About halfway through the baking, brush with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil[optional].
• Remove from oven.
• When it has cooled for about 10 minues, use a spatula to loosen the crust from the pan so it won't break later.
• Top with your favourite pizza items and bake at 400 F until heated through.

PLAIN PIZZA BASE

Steps:

• Find a deep and wide mixing bowl, [Try not to do it on a flat surface such as counter top as it takes more time and can be quite messy. I usually use a wok as i have one:)] Add in the flour.
• Add in yeast and just mix it lightly with the flour.
• Add in water. To be on the safe side, do not add all, always leave a little in the cup and add more if necessary. Mix the mixture with hand until you knead it to a dough that does not stick to your hand.
• Add the olive oil at this stage. You may substitute this with butter or margarine. It's to give the dough its nice golden brown colour when baked. Knead it for a minute.
• Add the salt. It should be 1 flat teaspoon not heap. Knead it for 2 to 5 minutes.
• You may also add ingredients at this stage such as rosemary, basil, cajun spice, etc and made it your unique pizza base.
• Divide and roll to your desired thickness and size. Dust the working surface well with flour. Cover the unused portion to avoid drying out. [If you want to save the dough, divide and roll it tight as a ball, the wrap it with clear plastic film. Keep it in the freezer. I keep them for maximum 2 weeks. Before using it, let it thaw for 30min to an hour, It might get a bit sticky as it has all those water condension. Add a bit of flour and roll your dough.]
• Preheat the oven to 250 degree celcius.
• Add your favourite ingredients and put in the oven to bake at 220 degree celcius for 10 minutes.

BASIC MASSONI PIZZA BASE

Steps:

• TOOLS:.
• 8x2 Inch baking tin.
• Prep:.
• Thoroughly grease the bottom and sides of the cake tin. Take 8oz of the dough and evenly distribute throughout the pan. Let sit at room temperature until the dough has doubled in size. Set pan in fridge (covered) for at least 1 hour before baking.
• To cheese the pizzas:.
• Evenly distribute 4oz of shredded mozzarella across the entire dough.
• Take 1 ounce of cheddar and cheese the rim of the entire pan.
• To bake:.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Bake all pizzas for 16-20 minutes or until top of cheese is golden brown and the edges are crisp and dark. Take a metal spatula and slowly slide the edges of the pizza from the pan until they release. Pull the pizza out of the tray and let cool on a resting rack.